Reviving the Echo
by Miss Dani
Summary: Evangeline "Echo" Trenton has matured and clung to what's important - fighting in the second Wizarding War. Entering in her 7th year, we will experience spurts of memorable moments in our sub-heroine's life during a time of love and hardship.
1. Finally Breaking Free

"This is the second Wizarding War, you both should know this. You teach Aurors!" Echo exclaimed, in a fit of tears. "I want to fight." Clifford and Wilhelmina Trenton stood before their daughter, arms folded.

"We'll have to talk about this," Clifford responded.

"There shouldn't be anything to talk about. I'm seventeen now, I'm of age. It should be my choice on returning to Hogwarts or not," Echo responded.

"Evangeline," her mother Wilhelmina started.

"Don't 'Evangline' me, mother. We all know he's going to attack my school, no doubt about that. But it's my right to want to fight back. Harry Potter is fighting back, so are Ron and Hermione, don't you think that's dangerous, too? Either way, every single one of us is in danger. Wouldn't you feel better that we're not just living in vain?"

Evangline, "Echo", Trenton had wisened up in the last few years. Upon her antics on sneaking back off to Hogwarts during her 5th year, she realized how serious things had become. She reunited with her old friends, the troublesome trio, and learned that everyone was terrified in some way of the Dark Lord's return. Fighting her way through year five was quite difficult for her, being homeschooled for three years, and now learning how to use her powers as an animorphmagus and to evade certain students in the hallways. She was now in her seventh year and caught up with how things work around Hogwarts, who to trust and who not to (even though in this day and age, who can you really trust?).

"Clifford, she's right. We really should know better, considering our place in the Wizarding World," Echo's mother retorted.

"Just…be careful out there. I know that's not saying much considering the fact that You-Know-Who is loose, but you have to keep a keen eye on whoever is around. You know your allies, keep them close. I'll get your truck from the attic," her father said. Within seconds a large leather trunk appeared before his daughter. Grabbing onto the handle, Echo hauled it up the stairs to pack her belongings to catch the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning.


	2. The Hogwarts Express

Echo made her way through the cramped walkway on the Hogwarts Express for a seat. The windows were fogged, for the weather was clammy today. Security was high. Getting onto the school's train was more of a hassle than just running through a brick wall between Platforms nine and ten.

"Echo! Come sit with us!" came a familiar voice. Neville Longbottom peeked through the open crevice of one of the rooms. Echo smiled and crept into the room, sitting down in the open seat. In their compartment were Neville, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley.

"Why hello there, Echo," Luna smiled. She cocked her hear sideways and squinted her eyes. Echo was used to Luna's unusual behavior.

"I assume my head is full of something this time, too?" Echo laughed.

"I'm quite certain, but don't worry. They're harmless," Luna responded.

Ginny sat patiently, hands folded in her lap, staring out the window. Things between Echo and Ginny had been a bit awkward since Echo's return two years ago. Harry Potter had some sort of an emotional attachment to Echo back then, feelings that Echo could not return. In the meantime, Ginny had had feelings for Harry and felt a bit stepped on. Things now were different. Ginny and Harry were two happy campers, but Ginny always felt a bit uneasy around Echo. Not to mention the time Echo and Ginny's brother Fred had a connection of their own. Gryffindors couldn't keep quiet about that one. What were they now? In Echo's fifth year, Fred and George Weasley had abandoned their post as Hogwarts jokesters, leaving behind a show of fireworks. Ever since then, Echo had seen very little of Fred, communicating only by owl and very few visits.

Echo looked at Ginny, her profile. The same gingery hair, the same freckles, but different. She thought about Fred, how he and his twin were joined with the Order to help fight alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"How is he?" Echo spoke. Ginny turned, a bit startled.

"Who?" Ginny asked. Echo gave her a look of assurance.

"Oh, he's okay, I'm assuming. No one really knows how anyone is doing anymore it seems," she sighed. Echo wrinkled her brow.

"Every one of us are worried, Echo, don't feel alone," Neville said, touching Echo's shoulder.

"I want to fight," Echo said.

"We all do. Even me, and that's a bloody shock," Neville laughed. Echo smiled. There was always something about Neville that Echo liked. He was like a brother to her, a silly, awkward brother that was always too skittish to try new things. Knowing that he wanted to fight comforted her.

"I'm not giving up either, Echo. We're all in this together. Every last one of us, atleast I would assume. Those who aren't with You-Know-Who would surely be on our side, in my opinion," Luna smiled up at Neville. He looked back down at her, without hesitating, grabbed her hand gave it a comforting squeeze. Ginny had turned to the conversation.

"Hard to believe that just a simple boy with big round spectacles could be causing such a ruckus as this. Harry, I hope you're okay. It's a big wide world out there, you'd think running and hiding would be so easy. But it's not," she wondered aloud.

"Ginny, just think. He's Harry Potter. Even if he's confronted with trials of death, he'll over come it," Echo said. "He's the Chosen One for a reason." Neville shuffled in his seat a bit uncomfortably.

"Please don't be like that, Neville Longbottom," Luna said. "You would be doing the same thing. I know you would. You have faith, you have trust, and a good head on your shoulders. Although I do think you should get your wrackspurts cleaned out," she smiled. Neville chuckled. But Luna was right, and normally what came out of her mouth was complete nonsense. Even Ginny smiled.

"This war has just begun, but the fighting has already begun. There are battles being fought everyday, and unfortunately some of these battles are confronted with Muggles. We can end this. I know we can," Echo said. She and Ginny exchanged a look that made Echo feel like they had just mended and unspeakable tie. That there would be no more tension between them, and that the two of them would be working as one.

It was also apparent to Echo that there had been some unmentioned bonding between the Lovegood and the Longbottom. Echo had high hopes for them, secretly holding on that Neville had finally found someone who could really understand him.

Echo peered out the window. Dark grey clouds and puffy white ones pushed and shoved each other in the midday sky.

"It looks like it might rain." Luna said, taking out an issue of the Quibbler. "Does anyone want one? I brought extra." She pulled out a few more issues.

"Eh, sure, I'll have one," Echo said, taking one from Luna. Neville took one as well, but Ginny politely rejected.

"I'm going to see who else wants one," Luna dryly smiled, and then exited herself from the train compartment.

"It's a bit strange really being on the train without them," Echo said. She played with her silver-strewn black hair and started to braid.

"I know. You know, I'm going to lead the D.A. this year. I've thought about it long and hard. Ron once told me a few years back that I need to start standing up for myself and to be brave, and I feel that it would be good for me. I've been practicing all summer long, with Gran's help of course, so I just feel like I'm ready to do this, you know?" Neville said, examining his wand.

"We will be ready when the time comes," Ginny said. "We will fight side by side with him."


	3. Thoughts on the Astronomy Tower

Overlooking the Astronomy Tower was a full, yellow moon. Echo leaned gently against the railing, staring deep into the navy sky. A fog clung stickily to the air, causing the areas engulfed in flame to become hazy and distorted. A slight breeze ruffled Echo's hair, which was its usual silver-stern black color. It was after dark, and all students were supposed to be in their beds, but being the rebel that she was, Echo did not abide by that rule tonight. The stars glowed more vibrant tonight than any other night. The yellow moon stared her in the face. The giant revolving orb in the sky seemed only inches away from Echo's freckled nose, and for some reason this made her very pensive. She thought about how somewhere, right now, the Dark Lord was plotting his chase on Harry Potter; how somewhere, right now, Remus Lupin was fighting off his furry little problem; how somewhere, right now, was Fred Weasley, probably cracking jokes with his brother and laughing, without her.

Echo blinked hard. Involuntarily these tears had welled up in her sockets. The night breeze made her break out In goose bumps, and suddenly her heart dropped. It was then she realized that she wanted Fred's loving arms around her as they star gazed. She wanted Fred's reassuring words that everything will be okay, and no one would get hurt in the war, even though she knew both of those things were untrue. She wanted to join in the joy and laughter with him and the rest of the family. She wanted to crouch on the squeaky upstairs floorboards with extendable ears and eavesdrop on conversations. But these things were far away now. A tear trickled down her face as she moved her eyes to gaze over the outlined tops of the Hogwarts towers. The world shrouded in a black shadow, all except the moon and the stars.

Echo slumped now on the railing, gripping so tight that her knuckles were white. She gritted her teeth hard, and hissed behind them. "Please, be alive. Be okay." She thought of that Golden Trio she loved so much. She wondered how life was for them. Where were they now? Buried in ice and snow, lost and confused in the forest. Were they even alive? Of course they were. If Harry Potter was dead, the whole world would know of it. What about Ron? What about Hermione? No, they were fine. They had to be. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, and surely she could pull Roonil Wazlib out of one of his concoctions.

What about her parents? It was mid-November now, and neither Clifford nor Wilhelmina Trenton written their daughter. She hadn't written them either, but she still expected something from the parental units in the owl post. Tomorrow she would write them. She would tell them that she was extra studious in her classes. She would tell them what it was like having Severus Snape as headmaster, and how it was very strange not to walk into the great hall and not see Albus Dumbledore humming to himself at his podium. She would write them about the friends she had here, how their friendships had grown stronger, and how they were preparing themselves for the worst. She would tell them of her Hogsmeade visit last Wednesday and how Neville had gotten sick from eating too many licorice wands. She would leave out the part where she cursed Crabbe and Goyle to where they hung from their toes behind the Hog's Head though. She would close the letter saying she would write soon, where in truth, she didn't know when she would write them again.

The drapery ruffled as the breeze picked up. Echo thought about going back to her four poster bed, snuggling under her aubergine colored quilts, and entering a well-needed slumber, but instead, she sat down on the cold stone and buried her face in her hands. She cried. It was a long and hard cry, but she had felt so close to her new friends, but so far from the old ones. She hated how uncertain she was about everything in her life. Would tomorrow come? Sure it would. Would it be the same as today? No, it wouldn't. Would it be for better or worse? Nobody knows. Echo wish someone knew. When she would have these deep, psychological questions, she wasn't afraid to sneak out of the portrait hole and wake up her headmaster to talk about these things with. It was very different with Snape. Everyone was posture perfect with him around, and it seemed only the Slytherins remains in the Dungeons.

From inside her room, she heard Silkwings rattle in her cage. Echo got up, pushed past the curtains, and unlocked the brass cage and let her Barn Owl free. Silkwings stretched out far, shaking her feathers, and climbed onto Echo's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek. Barefoot, Echo treaded back outside to the railing and let Silkwings fly free for a bit.

"Must get crampy being stuck in a cage all day," Echo softly said. That's exactly how she felt. So prepared to fight, so prepared to let loose and go at it, but here she was, trapped in her own world. Like her owl, Echo was going to spread her wings and fly. She knew where she was headed to for Christmas holiday. She was going to pay the Order of the Phoenix a visit.


	4. A Well Paid Visit

The wallpaper of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was starting to peel. Echo sat limp in an old black leather arm chair in what used to be Regulus' sitting room. She run her finger over the dust covered lamp table, etching her name into the dirt. The lighting was low in the room, giving the room a dark, ominous look. To fit the mood, Echo's hair was a raven blue in long barrel curls; her eyes still the usual silver. Her large black bow seemed almost physically attached to her head. It had been a while since she had been in this house, but she remembered the little articulate things like the back of her hand. The wood paneling along the bottom edge of the wall was starting to split, showing a contrast between the dark wood and the light, fresh wood underneath.

Echo flung her legs over the arm of the chair and attempted to lie down in the large arm chair. She watched pictures on the walls shuffle around in whatever particular scenery they were shot in. She could hear a faint mumbling from upstairs. Lately, she had been coming to the Order's meetings. She wanted to be able to fight in school and out of school, and being that they were on winter holiday, Echo decided it would be her best bet to get to work.

This was her first time being at an Order meeting in over a year, so she decided to show up early. Keeping to herself, she decided to relax in the sitting room for a while, but now she felt the urge to travel upstairs. It sounded as more people had arrived. She crept down the long hallway to the staircase, moving slowly to take in the atmosphere. The past few days had been very fast paced, and Echo was ready for a slow day. And of course, right on schedule, a meeting for the Order would be scheduled on her relax day.

A few of the paintings on the wall snored in their slumber; others shifted their eyes in the opposite direction of Echo's. Some of the floor boards creaked under her feet with every step she took.

Upon reaching the spiral staircase, she heard a very familiar voice from up stairs. Immediately the ends of her curls changed maroon, her freckled cheeks to rose. She almost ran up the stairs to the sound of that voice. The one voice she hadn't seen in a while. Her feet were light on the stairs, as she didn't want to make an elephant of herself tromping up to the next level. The voice grew more audible, and she was so sure of it's keeper.

A wall. Just a single wall kept Echo from this voice. She drew her wand, and with just a flick of it, a magical quill had appeared.

"And honestly, mum, it was absolutely brilliant!" the voice spoke. Echo flicked her wand and it disappeared.

"What's this?" the voice's mother retorted.

"Look it's writing," the voice said. "Want…to…know…what else…is…brilliant? That's what it says." The quill then disappeared, then reappeared before Echo, with another quick flick of the wand had disappeared once more. She quickly turned the corner.

"Me," she said. A huge smile across her face, her whole head covered in burgundy curls, as she was embraced by Fred Weasley.

"You are quite brilliant, aren't you?" he said, releasing the hug, but never fully letting go of her.

"I would say so," she winked.

"You'll have to teach me this quill trick, it would be great to work on mum," Fred laughed.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" she hugged him once more, more easy this time. Her cheek was pressed into his chest. She could feel his warmth through the embrace and did not was to let go.

"I wish I wrote more," he said.

"I wish I did, too. Silkwings hasn't been out for a fly in a while," her voice was sad. She missed having him around all the time. She had been so distanced from him for a very long time. An owl hadn't been sent in months. She released him, and then reached to touch his ginger locks.

"You keep cutting it shorter and shorter," she laughed.

"I can't really come up with a witty come back for yours. Although I do like this color. Is it purple?" he reached for one of her curls, still an aching aubergine color.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, purple." They both laughed. Echo's hand caught his, and he laced his fingers with hers. It had been a long time since the last ounce of intimacy between the either of them.

"So tell me, how are things? How is George! Where Is the rascal?" Echo laughed.

"Oh you mean 'Blessed George of the Burrow?'," Fred laughed.

"What's that mean?" Echo said, puzzled.

"Oh, he's awaiting his sainthood. Come, I'll show you." Fred led her by the hand into the next corridor where George was sitting with his father, a rather large bandage wrapped around his head. Echo let go of Fred and rushed to his twin.

"You alright, Georgie?" Echo said.

"Geez, you and him are one in the same, aren't you?" George laughed. "Saint-like." George winked. Echo exchanged looks with Fred. "I'm holey," George laughed, pointing to his bandage. "Got in a bit of a scruff trying to help Harry, lost an ear, but hey, I'm alive!"

"An ear, George? That's terrible!" Echo exclaimed.

"It's not much…considering we lost Moody that night," George trailed off.

"Oh…I…don't know what to say. That's so tragic," Echo said, taken aback.

"Yeah, it hit us pretty hard, too," Arthur spoke up. "But things like this are going to be happening left and right. We just have to be prepared for it all to happen. But in all, it's good to see you again, Evangeline. You're back at Hogwarts, yes?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. It's very different without everyone," Echo said. "Everything seems to be a lot different."

"That's very true. Must have taken a lot for Cliff and Wil to let you go back, eh?" Arthur chuckled.

"A bit, but they raised me to be tough against this kind of thing. It took a lot of persuasion though," Echo said. Remus and Tonks had then slowly entered the room.

"Sorry for the intrusion! Pardon!" Tonks was loud and cheerful. She had her hair the usual, scruffy purple. Echo didn't really know Tonks too well. They'd actually never been formally introduced before. So to lighten up things, Echo changed hers to match the same.

"Hey, that hairstyle looks pretty familiar," Tonks said, scrunching her face at Echo, then changing her hair to a floor length, yellow-blonde. Echo copied the same. Tonks then gave herself a dog muzzle and a tall, green Mohawk. Laughing, Echo copied on spot. In Tonks' surprise, she shifted back to her normal look, and Echo changed back to the long blue curls.

"Evangeline Trenton, but call me Echo," Echo held her hand out to Tonks.

"Nymphadora Tonks, but call me Tonks," and took Echo's hand. "You know, I thought you looked familiar. You were in the Prophet not too long ago weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was," Echo smiled. "I'm a Chaser for Gryffindor. Took a nasty blow to the left leg, but I'm fine now," Echo laughed, kicking her leg out as proof.

"How's Quidditch?" Fred asked.

"Oh, it's great! So far we haven't lost a match!" Echo said, smiling proud.

"I remember our Quidditch days, eh Fred?" George said, nudging his brother.

"Yeah, bloody bludgers," Fred laughed.

Kingsley Shacklebolt then entered the room, his purple robes trailing behind him. Everyone then took their seats, as the whole Order was in session for their meeting.


End file.
